Power forward Kenneth Faried had long been the subject of trade rumors in Denver and the speculations are becoming a lot louder recently as the Nuggets are reportedly on its way to a full-scale rebuild anchored on young point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and veteran stretch four Danilo Gallinari.

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Bleacher Report's Dan Favale noted that the even though Faried is statistically at his best this season as he is set to receive an immense four-year, $50 million extension next year, "his minutes are still down" because new head coach Mike Malone "have a ton of other options to evaluate up front".

Reports emerged that Malone is intending to move to a small ball type of system that makes better use of Mudiay's skills and puts Gallinari in the no. 4 spot most of the time. This will leave Faried competing for playing time not only with the versatile Italian but also with younger, bigger, and more natural centers Nikola Jokic and Joffrey Lauvergne. 

Favale said that Faried could still certainly be a part of the Nuggets rebuild, especially after the huge investment the team has placed on him, but Denver "just won't have room for everyone" and Faried is the team's best trade bait right now and should be the odd man out moving forward.

BSN Denver's Kalen Deremo recently listed "five reasons why the Nuggets should consider trading" Faried and one of the most interesting items is that the young players are capable of carrying the team on their own even without the vets.

Deremo said that the "promising early performances from Jokic and Lauvergne" is slowly making Faried dispensable in Malone's lineup.

"At ages 20 and 24 respectively, Jokic and Lauvergne are already younger and prone to more potential than Faried," Deremo added.

Besides to their youth and potential, the two players are also said to be "significantly taller than Faried, better man defenders, more willing passers and have generally more effective basketball IQs", which surely caught Malone's attention.

Whether or not Faried will remain a Nugget in February remains to be seen as to how Malone will use the 26-year-old veteran moving forward this season.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA trade rumors 2015, Denver Nuggets trade rumors, Kenneth Faried